Here's a 2014 book on a subject that's close to my heart. It's a 'photographic essay' about the public library, and has quality photographs of a wide variety of libraries, both active and abandoned, around the nation. Interspersed with the pictures are essays by noted authors. One of these I especially like is the essay called 'What the Library Means to Me,' written by author Amy Tan when she was only eight years old. Among others who reflect on the book that Toni Morrison calls 'profound and heartbreakingly beautiful' are Isaac Asimov, Barbara Kingsolver, and even Dr. Seuss.

the time of year when all of the "Best of" lists for music, movies, and books come out! I usually scour a bunch of my favorite websites to find book recommendations and make a list of all the great stuff I missed. Then I put it all on hold at KPL and wait for that glorious moment when there's a stack waiting for me on the library's hold shelf!

I like the lists from Publisher's Weekly, NPR, the New York Times (and children's) that come out around this year. But the list I most look forward to each year is KPL's Best of 2013. Our staff have a range of interests and each year the "Best Of" list has wonderful choices on it! Each title is conveniently linked to our catalog for quicker hold-placing! If the library doesn't own something you are interested in, fill out a "Suggest an Item" and let us know.

Update as of 12/4: NPR has changed it up this year and is offering a book discovery tool called "Book Concierge" and it's lovely. No list format from them this year, just cover images to play around with! I'm in love!

Like many of us, I have an extensive 'to-read' list. (Actually, it's multiple lists and collections of clippings and hastily scribbled notes). In my email today, a newsletter of recent releases had an item that caught my eye: Of dice and men: The story of Dungeons and Dragons and the people who play itby David Ewalt, which has now been added to the list. Though I've never been a fanatical player, I am definitely a nerd, and I have a soft spot in my heart for dice with more than six sides, so this book looks like a fun read.

The library has this book on order, so I can place a hold, or (more reasonably given the number of items I already have checked out) place it on one of my KPL lists. Do you know about this great feature? From the item record, I can click on the "Select an Action" button and choose "Add to My Lists" which will put the item on a list that is either temporary (if I'm not logged in) or attached to my account (if I am). In the latter case, I can log in and look at the titles on my list, and place a hold from there.

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Of dice and men

If you're in a book club that is about to set a reading calendar for the year, don't forget to check our Book Club in a Bag offerings. We added new titles earlier this year, and will continue to add more--both fiction and nonfiction--in our ongoing effort to keep the BCIB collection as current and relevant as possible.

And if you haven't been to the Central library downtown in a few months, you may not know that the Book Club in a Bag sets are now available for patrons to browse and check out on their own, without having to talk to a staff person. You can also search for them in the catalog and place a hold to have a set sent to a different branch location for your convenience. Simply type "Book club in a bag" in the catalog to see what titles are available.

Book Club in a Bag

We are what we read. But how do we decide what to read? Normally we don't have a systematic program for our reading life. Perhaps a friend told us, or the "customers also bought this..." on Amazon.com, or our last book mentioned it, or we heard it on NPR or Oprah. These are all great, but there's many other ways. Try the Now Read This through our website. Or, if you want a Read-a-Like based on an author you like, try our Books and Authors database (or try Good Reads or LibraryThing).

But, if you want to get super serious, we have tons of books that are about books (i.e. bibliographies, "treasuries," "anthologies," "companions").

“More, More, More,” Said the Baby: Three Love Storiesis the story of Little Guy, Little Pumpkin, and Little Bird, three active babies whose caregivers affectionately “catch them up” to deliver kisses and nibble toes which, of course, the babies love. We've been enjoying this Caldecott Honor book along with our songs and rhymes at Baby Steps every Tuesday morning at 10:30 at the Central Library. While it's a great Valentine’s Day choice, More, More, More is nice any time of year and fun for older children and their caregivers, too. It's also available in a board book edition, perfect for sharing with the youngest readers-to-be.

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"More, More, More," Said the Baby: Three Love Stories

During this busy holiday season, parents and other adults are scrambling about in search of the perfect gift for their children, grandchildren, nephews and nieces. Well, look no further!

Consider a gift that will entertain and educate kids of all ages and bring your family closer together. Give the gift that keeps on giving - the gift of reading! Reading with a child/children and encouraging them to read independently are two of the most significant things an adult can do to influence a youngster’s life.

Of course, good books make wonderful gifts. Kids naturally enjoy the magic that a book brings as they go over the story and illustrations, (many times, often more than once), practice their reading skills and perhaps learn something new in the process. Magazine subscriptions also make great recurring reading presents.

But maybe the best option for a reading themed gift is to bring a child to the Kalamazoo Public Library sometime during their holiday break. If you time it right, you can attend one of many programs planned for children. Then you can sign up the little guys for their own library cards, which come complete with plastic carrying cases and lanyards. And even though it is free of charge, the amount of pride and joy you’ll see in the little ones’ faces when first presented with it, will form a pleasurable, lasting memory for all gift givers.

Once armed with the card, the child has the entire library’s collection at his or her disposal. They can choose their own books, audiobooks, magazines, CDs, and DVDs. Of course, librarians are always on hand to aid your young ones in the selection process, helping to match the child with books covering their particular interests, and on their reading level as well. Best of all, this process can be repeated again and again. Just return the items and pick out new ones as many times as you like. Truly the best gift of all. And one that will keep on giving for a lifetime!

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Library Card

Anyone who’s been out and about in Kalamazoo on a Saturday morning since early winter has likely encountered the large groups of runners, many organized by the awesome Kalamazoo Area Runners, who have been training steadily for the Kalamazoo Marathon (May 6-8). With the weather improving (any day now!) and the event now only a week away, the dedication and discipline of these runners who trained outdoors through the Michigan winter is sure to pay off. The fact that these folks are not professional athletes, but regular, busy, time stressed, everyday people with professional, social, and family lives is not lost on me. While I am not a runner, I am a (mildly) competitive cyclist and the older I get and the more packed my daily life becomes with family, professional, and community commitments, the more my fitness goals take a backseat in my life and my time to devote to training shrinks further. Luckily KPL has multiple resources that can help keep you motivated and getting the most out of even the most limited of training schedules. If its training/social groups that keep you motivated then there is no better place to start your search for local organizations than the Kalamazoo Public Libraries Local Organization Directory. If you are looking for books to help make the most of your workouts, Chris Carmichael’s The Time-Crunched Triathlete , Kris Gethin’s Body by Design, and in the extreme even the craziness of Tim Ferriss’s The 4-Hour Body, provide a scientifically (if not a tiny bit morally questionable in the case of Ferriss) backed approach to squeezing the most fitness out of the least amount of time. If it is advice or motivation from the vast amount of online communities and information sources that keep you going, KPL has you covered with free wifi in all of our locations and plenty of newly installed blazing fast computers. But even with all of these information sources easily accessible from KPL, it is still the individual that gets out of bed and out running on a cold and snowy January morning and that is why those folks running in next week’s marathon are so worthy of the communities support and I wish everyone participating, no matter what distance or target time, good luck in next week’s event.

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Time-crunched Triathlete

Dewey is a heart-warming story about a cat who lived a long, pampurred life in a public library in Spencer, Iowa. The true story is written by Vicki Myron, who was the Spencer Library Director for 20 years. Considering that Vicki rescued Dewey from a library drop box when he was just a tiny, dirty, bitterly cold kitten with frostbitten paws, Dewey repays the library staff and library patrons again and again with his sweet personality and adorable cat antics.

This story is autobiographical for Vicki Myron’s personal and professional life. The town history of Spencer, Iowa is painted throughout the story with details that take the reader there. This is a wonderful story that poignantly highlights the rewarding relationship of pets to people. There is also an audiobook version read by Suzanne Toren... and... the Oshtemo Branch Library has chosen Dewey for an upcoming Oshtemo Book Group selection - stay tuned!

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Dewey: the Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World

So, summer’s almost over, and you’ve given up on "beach reading," as the weather seems set on staying cool. Now, you say, you’re looking for some deeper, brain-challenging reads to get in the mind-set for “back to school?”

Have you noticed that you can access lists of award-winning books from KPL’s catalog? For example, you could find the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction winners, all the way back to The Magnificent Ambersons, by Booth Tarkington, published in 1918 (when this prize was named Pulitzer Prize for the Novel.) Or choose to place a hold on the most recent winner, Elizabeth Strout’sOlive Kitteridge.

To find your way to the lists, simply go to the catalog, see the lists of award-winners on the left, under “Recommended Reading,” and choose a category. We have all our holdings posted in reverse chronological order. At the bottom of the lists, you’ll see “More recommended reading lists.” Go ahead, click on it, and see how many more categories of award-winning books you can access at your local library!